Rutgers School of Health Professions: At the Vanguard - Annual Report 2022-2023

TRANSGENDER MAN HELPS TRANSGENDER WOMEN FIND THEIR VOICES THROUGH SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY

As a transgender man, AJ Quiray found that his voice deepened with testosterone treatment.

When the speech-language pathology student began helping transgender women align their voice with their gender, he understood how fortunate he was—and resolved to work with transgender people as a health care professional “I recognized then my privilege as a male whose voice changed naturally with testosterone,” he said “It gave me a sense of responsibility to the LGBTQ+ community” In the Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology program’s pro-bono clinic in Newark, Quiray worked for months with the clinic’s first transgender client to retrain her voice through diaphragmatic breathing and daily vocal exercises He was elated when she altered her pitch so that in phone conversations her voice matched her gender He and other students went on to provide gender-affirming voice and communication therapy in a group setting to other trans women and men who had found their way to the clinic Tears, smiles, and virtual hugs often filled the sessions “Being able to bring my voice to the table with a trans group, I think made them more able to open up and made them more comfortable,” Quiray said The speech-language pathology program, which graduated its first class this spring, is focused on how gender, geography, socioeconomic status, and cultural background can impact speech and language development Between his internships and the clinic, Quiray worked with people with many different speech disorders, including a deaf client and those who had Parkinson’s Disease and ALS

“I understood how much speaking and being heard matter,” he said

As a graduate, Quiray hopes to work with transgender people, many of whom say they face discrimination and sometimes hostility from health care professionals At the same time, some states are limiting insurance for gender-affirming care “As a health professional, I can play a small role in making sure the government understands that people need care For trans women, having a female voice makes a world of difference in terms of their safety and quality of life,” he said A first-generation college graduate, born to Filipino parents, Quiray said he was drawn to the Rutgers program by its commitment to serving multi-ethnic and diverse populations Kelly Pena, a speech-language pathology assistant professor and academic adviser to Quiray, said he was one of her most thoughtful students who was humbled by his work with the trans community She is certain Quiray will continue to push for diversity, equity, and inclusion in health care—the tenets that form the basis of SHP’s speech-language pathology program

10 • RUTGERS SCHOOL OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS